Up to our asses in high quality grasses: a floristic survey of Grass Bay.

Abstract

Grass Bay, on the shore of Lake Huron in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, has been a Nature Conservancy preserve since 1979. It is home to a variety of plants and animals. We conducted a floral survey of a section of Grass Bay and used the Floristic Quality Asssessment (FQA) to determine its relative value to conservation efforts. In order to do this we divided the site into four ecosystems: deciduous forest, coniferous swamp, stablized dunes, and interdunal/open water area. Each of these habitats contained specific species, but some species overlapped between the zones. Several species (Tanacetum huronense, Solidago houghtonii, Sarracenia purpurea, Cirsium pitcheri and more) were highly valuable for conservation. On the other hand, some species, non-native species, indicate disturbance and do not contribute to conservation value at all. Overall, Grass Bay has a high FQI, making it a valuable site for the protection of native Michigan flora.